The Rise And Fall
by Running For Anothers Dream
Summary: Four years ago, Todd Tolensky vanished. Now, he's back - with new scars, new hope, and a golden wedding band on his hand. And he needs the help of the Brotherhood, or otherwise his new home, his new country, his new family will all fall by the hands of traitors and military alike.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello, and welcome to my first x-over published to this account! As this is just the prologue chapter, it's much shorter then my other chapters are going to be. Still, I think it suits us just fine as an introduction to the story.

I hope that you all enjoy, as I'll be eagerly awaiting on reviews, requests, and comments.

* * *

"Go get the damn door already, Pietro!" shouted Lance, from his spot on the couch. The knocking just got louder, more incessant, at his voice and the earth user found himself grimacing.

God, his head hurt. And that noise wasn't helping.

There was a cool breeze against Lance's face as Pietro zoomed by, and then the younger boy was ripping open the door. Light flooded his eyes for a moment, and Pietro narrowed them at the visitors.

Visitor.

Visitors?

Yeah, there was most definatly two of them standing there, though one was a few paces back and not really paying attention to what was going on. The other boy was grinning at Pietro, amber eyes wide and peering out at the white haired mutant from underneath dusty brown bangs.

"Pietro!" said the stranger, happily moving forward to wrap his arms around said boy.

Pietro went stiff at the touch, chin tilting up in an attempt to avoid touching the other boy's shoulder. "Who the Hell are you and why the hell are you touching me?"

He could feel the stranger freeze, and the second man, the good looking one with the strange vest and sharp teeth, started to laugh. "I thought you said they would recognize you, kid?"

With a huff, the first boy let go of Pietro and leaned back. His mouth twisted into a frown, eyes narrowing in - annoyance? Disappointment? Something that was unhappy and unpleasant. "I thought they would've. It ain't like I gone and dyed my hair or shit. I don't look that different, dawg."

Except that he did, he did look different. Longer hair that wasn't pale or dirty, pulled back into a pony tail. Bright eyes and a fuller face, with less shadows under his eyes or in them. Clothes that fit and didn't show off ribs or spine or stains.

And if it wasn't for that one word, then Pietro never would have recognized him. As it was, he found himself pulling back and staring.

"Todd?"


	2. Chapter One

A/N: Chapter Two is up and ready to be read! Now, here's a question for everyone. How often do you even venture into the x-over section for these two stories? Hopefully often enough for this to be read at least once or twice. c:

Oh! I guess I should also mention that this is an Alternate Time-Line for both universes. Meaning that most of the events still happen, just in a different order and at a different time. It will be explained over the next two chapters, at least one of which should be up today or tomorrow. c:

* * *

Todd grinned, eyes lighting up again at his name. "Look at that! You do remember me! And here I was thinkin' you had gone blind or some shit."

Because that would have been the only explanation that didn't hurt Todd, in a way that he didn't think he could be hurt anymore. Was if there was an issue, mentally, physically, emotionally, that kept Pietro from remembering him.

But the speedster did and that made things better, easier, lifted the weight that had settled on his chest. "It's good to see you again, 'Tro."

Todd's only answer was a fist to the gut. It didn't hurt, not compared to Martel or that one man in the military, with the single curl of blond and a tendancy to rip off his shirt at any given moment, but it was enough to catch Todd off gaurd. He let out a wheeze, curling in on himself and staggering backwards.

"What the Hell, dawg?" cried Todd, over the sound of his companion chuckling. "That ain't cool!"

"Isn't cool? Isn't cool? I'll tell you what isn't cool! You leaving us without saying anything and we thought you were dead but no now you're just back here and - what do you even want, Toad?" Pietro's words were a blurr half way through, and Todd found himself unable to keep up with most of what was being said.

Straightening up, and casting the speedster a weary glance as he moved his arms away from his stomach, Todd frowned. "I ain't got a clue what you just said, yo."

"What I just said is that you're an asshole!" shouted Pietro, and then he was in front of Todd and jabbing a finger in the younger boys face. "What gives you the right to do that kind of thing, huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Each question was punctuated by a finger being shoved at Todd's head, and the young mutant found himself leaning backwards in an attempt to avoid being poked in the eye. "Chill out, Pietro! It wasn't my fault, alright? It was Fuzz-butt's, so just chill out and let us come in."

A pause of silence. Then Pietro took a deep breath and tilted his head back. "LANCE!"

The result was instantanous. A low rumble echoed through the run-down house, dust and small bits of plaster falling from the walls. The oldest member of the Brotherhood was clearly not in a good mood - and briefly Todd wondered if he was still getting those head-aches of his.

Evidently, as the next words out of the hidden boy's mouth were an angry snarl. "Shout one more time, and I'm going to bring this place down on your scrawny ass!"

"La-ance! Lance you won't believe who's out here!" There was a soft breeze and then the white haired mutant was gone, already inside and flung onto the couch and across Lance, babbling on and on and on.

Todd blinked, and then he tilted his head back to look at his companion. Golden eyes met the ones covered by those small, dark lenses, and then he grinned. "No worries, Greed. They'll help us out."

He wasn't sure whether the words were to help ease the sudden tightness of his chest, or to calm whatever discomfort that Greed may have been feeling but not showing. Either way, Todd curled his fingers around the homunculous' hand and gave a tug, dragging the much older male into the house.

And it was worse than Todd remembered, with creaking floor-boards and light that seemed to be shimmering in from cracks in the very walls themselves. Empty too, though all the furniture was still there and just as Todd remembered - shitty and broken and stained.

Greed gave a low whistle, not bothering to hide the fact that he was looking the place over. "Wow, kid. You weren't kidding when you said this place was a dump."

Todd snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, back hunching as he slouched down. "No shit. I told you that this place was straight out of the garbage, didn't I?"

"Yeah, I just didn't believe you. And here I was thinking that the Devil's Nest was trash," mused Greed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he followed Todd further inside.

Todd just grumbled something, any real answer cut off by the fact that Lance was sitting up now and staring at him, with wide brown eyes that weren't really angry or upset, but just very much surprised. Suddenly feeling sheepish about the entire ordeal, Todd gave a small wave of his hand. "Yo."

Another moment of silence, longer then the last. Then Lance's face crumpled into that still-familiar scowl, and it was fine because Todd could deal with anger. It would have been happyness that, while hoping for, would have caught him off-gaurd and made him stutter and stammer and lose his way.

Anger was familiar.

It was something that Todd accepted with open arms, even as he shuffled away from the older mutant, until his back was pressed up against Greed's front.

The homunculous raised an eyebrow, lips twitched up slightly, but draped an arm over Todd's shoulder all the same.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" demanded Lance, shoving Pietro off his lap as he stood up. The speedsters whined protests were ignored. "No...Where the Hell have you been?"

"I, uh, I've been gone?" tried Todd, only to scramble for another answer before that one could even fully leave his lips. "And busy. Really, really busy, dawg. But I need to talk to you -"

"Talk to me?" interrupted Lance. And he looked mad, so mad, and Todd had almost fond memories of pissing off the oldest member of the Boarding House by eating the last bagel in the morning. "You take off without a word, for _four fucking years_, and then come back and expect to talk? What makes you think I even want to see you?"

Expected, but painful all the same. Todd found himself actually flinching at the words, pressing as close to the still silent Greed as he could get. Then he crossed his arms over his chest in an almost defiant way, one that didn't match the hurt look in his eyes at all. "I don't give a shit if you want to see me or not, dawg. I gotta talk to you so I'm gonna talk to you."

Because it was important. Needed. A priority enough that they had bribed the Elrics to open up the Gate for them, to let them cross through into this other dimension, just for a day, just long enough to get help that was so desperately needed.

Help that Todd promised to get.

He could almost feel the displeasure oozing off of Greed. "I thought you said they would listen to you?"

"They will," insisted Todd, almost petulantly. "Trust me, they're gonna. They'll help, too."

"Help? I'm not helping you with shit until you tell me where you've been." demanded Lance, but there was something different now. In his eyes and voice. It was less angry and more despondant, and then the older mutant was marching across the room and over to where his two visitors were standing.

Lance wrapped one hand around Todd's shoulder and tugged, and Greed let the boy be pulled out of his grasp. Todd went still, _instinct_, as he was pulled up against Lance and strong arms wrapped around him. Held him. A chin rested on top of his head and when Lance spoke next, his words were muffled by tawny hair that smelled of mint and flowers.

"Where the Hell have you been?" muttered Lance, tightening his grip on the younger mutant.

Todd didn't move for the longest of seconds, but then he was wrapping his own arms around Lance. Fingers found a hold in the back of Lance's tee-shirt and he gave a heavy sigh, relaxing against the mutant that he had missed so badly.

"It's a really long story, Lance." he muttered, eyes slipping closed.

Lance snorted. "Then I guess you had better start talking."


	3. Chapter Two

A/N: Still working out the minor details of the story, but I do hope that everyone's enjoying it! I sure know that I'm having fun writing it.

* * *

By the time that Lance had let go of Todd, Greed had already made himself home on the couch. Pietro, for his part, looked more pissed then scared of the homunculous.

"Come on, start spilling." ordered Lance, stepping back away from the younger mutant.

Todd blinked, staring up at Lance. And then he grinned, wide and almost child-like, before scampering over to the couch. And, at one point or another, he would have waited around and stood. Sat beside Greed if he was feeling particularly bold. But that was then and this was now, and Todd had no issues with taking a seat in the older male's lap.

He settled down, back against chest, and drew his arms over his chest. Greed gave a low laugh and looped one arm around Todd's middle. "Are you comfortable, kid?"

Lance was staring and Pietro was staring and all that Todd did was put Greed on the knee. "This is Greed, dawg. He's my portable couch."

"He's your what?" asked Lance, and then he shook his head. "You know what, never mind. Just tell me what the Hell's going on, Todd. Where have you been?"

"Uh, well, it's kind of complicated." muttered Todd, and the grin slipped away from his face. It had been easier in his mind, but wasn't it always? He never had to explain anything there, even to other people, just thought it and it happened and that was the end of it. But this was reality and people couldn't just understand what he wanted here.

Lance crossed his arms over his chest, standing in front of the couch and looking down at Todd. Just like when they all lived together in the past, and Todd would bring home a bad grade in some class or another. "Then I suggest you start explaining, now."

"Yeah, kid. Maybe you should get talking?" prompted Greed, and he sounded far more amused then he really was. Nudged one of Todd's shoulders and laughed again, because that was what he did.

Todd frowned, hunching down slightly. Shoulders curled up and he gave a shrug. "So, uh, I've been in this other world. Yeah. And, uh, I haven't been able to come back over because that's really hard to do, right? And I've been really busy."

"Busy doing what?" snapped Lance.

A pause. Then Todd lifted one hand and pointed at Greed. "Is he not an acceptable answer to that question."

A pause - and then Greed was laughing and it wasn't just a chuckle but a full out cackle. It seemed that it sunk in for Pietro first after that, because the speedster sputtered, pointing in the vague direction of Todd.

"What the Hell do you mean you've been doing him? Don't be an idiot Toad, we aren't fucking stupid. That would be you, thinking we would fall for something like that." rambled Pietro.

Greed nodded. "He's right, kid. I seem to recall things going a little differently. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I was the one fucking you."

The silence that filled the room after that sentence was thick and heavy and uncomfortable. At least, for Todd, who could feel everyone staring at him and why had he brought that up in the first place?

Oh, that was right. Because he was an idiot and talked when things got uncomfortable. Like right then for example, where he cut off Lance in favor of whatever flew out of his mouth first. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. So I was busy, right? And it's hard getting back here anyways, and I know I've been gone for a really long time, dawg, but I actually came back here for a reason. And I mean, I have to leave here tomorrow so maybe I can get an answer now?"

"An answer to what, Todd? I swear, if you don't start making sense, then I'm going to kick your ass out of here!" threatened Lance, rightfully annoyed at this point.

Todd cracked a slight smile, trying not to sink back against Greed's chest any further, to not show that this was turning into a much bigger ordeal than he had planned. "Well...I kind of need your help, over in Amestriss. Uh. In the other world. Place. Thing."

"You need...our help?" echoed Lance, unsure of exactly what had just happened.

"Uh, yeah." muttered Todd, and he was going to have to explain things now, wasn't he? Explain what had happened and where he had been and -_the fire and explosion and all those screams-_ Kimblee.

Without thinking, Todd pressed himself closer to Greed. And across from them, Lance and Pietro just frowned.


	4. Chapter Three

A/N: Time for some cute stuff! And in the next chapter, plot related stuff!

* * *

"Well, this is it." said Todd, peering into the room that had once been his own. Not much had been done to it, but a tarp was pulled tight over the hole in the ceiling. Slivers of light pooled into the room from the sides of it, the cracks in the walls, the broken window panes.

Which was fine, Todd supposed, because the lighting system in his bedroom had never worked right and no matter how many times he flicked the switch, it just wouldn't come on.

Beside him, Greed gave a low whistle. "Wow, kid. You weren't joking when you talked about this place, were you?"

Todd snorted, giving up hope on getting the light to come on and instead making his way into the room. It wasn't cluttered, really, but it wasn't clean either. A pillow on the floor in the corner. A blanket at the foot of the window. A fine layer of dust over everything, and when he dropped down onto the bed, it creaked as though it would fall apart beneath him.

Which it had, before. Years and years ago, back when Todd was still in highschool and Tabbitha had busted into his bedroom and woken him up with a miniature explosion. None the less, he patted the mattress beside him and gave Greed a half-hearted smile.

"No shit. I told you the place was a major dump, didn't I?" Of course, Todd had mentioned that several times. Had all but fallen in love with his room back at the bar, and that nice bed that didn't creak when he jumped on it.

Greed raised an eyebrow at the younger boy, much younger really, before taking a more careful seat beside Todd. "Are you sure this thing isn't going to just collapse underneath of us?"

Todd paused, pursing his lips together for a moment. Then he grabbed a hold of the edge of the bed and peered under it. Several boxes were wedged under it, propping the mattress up in the spaces that the actual bed frame had hollowed out and chipped away.

"Nope. All the crates are there, so we're good, dawg." said Todd, pushing himself back up and dropping down onto the mattress.

"Reassuring, kid." laughed Greed, shaking his head.

Todd just hummed, and he suddenly felt far more tired then before. Sprawling out on the bed, and peering out at Greed from half-closed eyes. "You just gonna sit there, or what?"

Greed shrugged. "Maybe. Why? You want something from me, kid?"

Todd frowned, and he was really fucking tired. Past the point of being tired, and his mouth twisted into something that was less scowl and more pout. "No. I'm just going to bed."

And then he rolled over, back to Greed and tugging the thin blanket over top of himself. Todd gave a loud sigh that turned into a yawn half-way through, moving so that his back was pressed against Greed's knee.

Except, a moment later, it wasn't the homonculous' knee, but his chest. Greed settled down on the bed beside Todd, using one arm as a pillow and wrapping the other one around the young mutants middle. "Sure you are, kid. This not turn out the way you thought?"

Todd shrugged. "I dunno. Lance said that he and 'Tro would help. I just...I'm just done with all this shit, y'know?"

Greed nodded and hummed, before pressing a kiss to the top of Todd's head. "Go to sleep, kid. It's not going to be any more fun tomorrow, but you may as well not be dead for it."

"Yeah," muttered Todd. "I guess. Night, Greed."


	5. Chapter Four

A/N: Okay, I lied. It's more cute this chapter and plot in the next three. Also, more cute. Lots of cute. I enjoy the cute. c:

* * *

The next day rose early in the morning, too early for Todd's taste. It filtered in through the holes in the tarp, through the window, through the cracks in the wall, and God, why did it have to be so early?

Todd groaned, rolling over and pressing his face closer to Greed's chest. "Ugh, make Martel close the damn blinds."

A low chuckle drifted through the room, Greed's chest falling and raising with each laugh. "Martel? Are you still asleep, kid? Because she's still over in Amestris, kiddo."

Todd gave a blink, tilting his head up to stare at Greed. "What? Oh, yeah. Fuck, she is. Wasn't really awake yet, I guess."

Greed chuckled again, moving to run one hand through Todd's hair. It was soft, softer than when they had first met. Turned out that it really was the shampoo, the lack of shampoo, the herbal shampoo that had fixed it.

And the young mutant always seemed so happy to get a shower now, too. It was almost funny, really, and Greed twined his fingers in that soft hair and gave a slight tug. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

Todd's breath caught in his throat and then he was batting at the older man's hand, pressing his face against Greed's chest. "Knock that off! You don't have to be an ass over everything."

Another laugh, and then Greed sat up and patted Todd on the shoulder. "Oh, but it's so much fun. Besides, I know that you like my ass."

Todd rolled over, frowning up at the homonculous. "So what? This doesn't have to do with your ass. It has to do with you acting like one."

Greed hummed, ruffling the other boys hair once more before standing up and stretching. "Again, it's fun. But whatever, kid. We have things to do before we leave this place, right?"

Todd gave another loud sigh as he sat up, leaning against Greed's side. "Yeah, I guess."

And he didn't really want to leave, as odd as that sounded. Just like he hadn't wanted to come back to Bayville in the first place.

It was just a lot to try and think about, to try and deal with, to try and keep track of. Everything seemed twisted and complicated, and Todd really just wanted to go back to sleep for a little bit longer.

Yeah, sleep would be nice, and Todd gave a large yawn at the thought of it. By the time his eyes were open again, Greed had already slipped out of the room.

"Jack ass," muttered Todd, slipping off the bed himself. Paused. And then he peered into the bathroom just to check.

Despite the fact that he didn't actually want to leave Bayville and go back to the mayham of Amestriss, Todd found that he really missed the Devil's Nest, missed Sloth, missed Martel. Even Wrath, in an odd kind of way.

Then he was gone down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen.


	6. Chapter Five

A/N: See, more plot! And some nice, adorable cuteness. I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

"Is this it?" asked Greed, raising an eyebrow at the lay-out of the table. The chipped and mismatched plates, the scratched up glasses filled with - water? Yes, that's what it looked like, if a little bit on the dusty side. And then there were the sandwhichs that had been thrown half-heartedly onto the plates, with some sort of lunchmeat on plain white bread.

Todd was barely down the stairs but gave a snort all the same. "You act like you have to eat it. If you don't want it, give it to someone else. Like, I dunno, me?"

"Oh?" Greed twisted his head around, giving the young mutant a shark-like grin. "Here I was thinking that you were just going to sleep up there all day."

"What the Hell do you mean by he doesn't have to eat?" asked Pietro, and his food was already long gone.

Rolling his eyes, Todd snatched up Greed's sandwhich, stuffing it all in his mouth at once. It was salty and tasted just slightly sour, but he chewed twice and swallowed anyways. And, in answer, Todd shrugged at Pietro.

Didn't even bother trying to explain the differences between a mutant and a homonculous, because it wasn't really something that he even understood himself. It was all too complicated for him, too much to try and keep straight.

So Todd ignored it and dropped down at the table anyways. Rather, dropped down on Greed's lap, back to chest, and settled in. "I can't sleep up there if we have to go soon, dumb ass."

"Hey! Don't ignore me, Todd! Just because you took off for so long doesn't mean you don't need to listen to me when I speak to you!" huffed Pietro, annoyed.

Todd looked over at him and, on a whim, grinned. "What, you say something? Sorry 'Tro, couldn't hear you over that annoying buzz. A fly must of gotten in here somewhere."

And maybe Todd had gotten a little more sarcastic over the years, a little less hesitant, but he still didn't think that it deserved Pietro and Lance staring at him like he had suddenly grown two heads.

Thankfully, before any fight could actually break out, Lance managed to clear his throat and draw attention back onto himself. "Anyway, Todd. How is it we're leaving? I mean, it isn't like we got that many details on what's going on last night."

"Oh, yeah. Well, see, I don't really know how we're getting back." said Todd, shrugging. "I mean, I think that portal-thing is just gonna appear again and we'll walk through it. Right, Greed?"

Greed laughed, but nodded. "Something like that. Al's probably going to have it up and running around noon, so we should be back at that park by then."

"And what happens then?" asked Lance, shoving the last bit of sandwhich in his mouth. "When we get to this other place, I mean."

Todd pursed his lips together, pressing closer to Greed's chest. And maybe he had purposefully left as much as he could out of what had been said the night before, but that was just because he didn't want to think about it himself. Certainly didn't want to talk about it, trying to explain everything that had happened and what it meant.

So, instead, Todd shrugged. Fiddled with Greed's hand, fingers running over the back of the older male's knuckles, not really looking at anyone when he did.

But they were looking at him, and they were looking at the glint of gold that shined on it.


End file.
